


easy as pie

by awkwardedgeworth



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-10
Updated: 2016-12-23
Packaged: 2018-09-07 17:29:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 14,525
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8809648
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/awkwardedgeworth/pseuds/awkwardedgeworth
Summary: "Vi...Victor..." His English this time isn't muddled by champagne and it comes out in a soft tremble, "...why are you here?"
"Yuuri!" He lets the name roll off his tongue, hoping to ease the man whose cheek is still glistening wet from either drool or Makkachin's wet kisses, "Starting today, I am your coach, and I'll make you win the Grand Prix Final!"
Then he winks, because he's Victor Nikiforov.
 
or, wherein the universe laughs at Victor when he meets Yuuri again after the banquet





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> me: what am i gonna do without yoi  
> friend: write fics!!  
> me: no  
> me:  
> me:  
> me: fuck
> 
> this is a little short something when i'm fighting a writing block for the haikyuu tg au  
> let me know if you like it? or if you want a continuation?? 
> 
> ok fam i was going for the deep, purple, self reflection prose but then it quickly morphed into something funny so??aaa i'm sorry for the inconsistencies. 
> 
> not beta'd

Victor, for lack of a better word, is a naturally talented asshole.

In all his twenty seven years of experiencing life, of seeing the sun rise during the commute to his home rink day after day, he barely can recall a time where he had to struggle for something- _anything_.

So when he hears the not too distant rumble of footsteps and an ungodly yelp in the hot spring resort, he mentally prepares himself, making sure the towel strategically covers his forehead because Yura had said a comment about it the other day, (" _-it's so fuckin' large it should be called a five head!_ ").

The door separating the baths and hot spring is slammed sideways and the little skater he saw on his phone screen mere days ago scans the place wildly, hair disheveled and eyes looking too awake for the tiredness gathered at the corner of his mouth.

"Vi...Victor..." His English this time isn't muddled by champagne (somewhere in the back of his head he finds it adorable how he got easily swayed by the bubbly drink, how cute!), and it comes out in a soft tremble, "...Why are _you_ here?"

Does Yuuri somehow know his famous record of selective memory? Ah, but no matter. Victor has been a groomed performer for most of his life, and so he steels himself and rises from the water, taking off the towel in the process to hide his slightly shaking hands because _no shit_ _his heart is hammering as_ he stands face to face with the (sober) man who charmed his way into his heart.

"Yuuri!" He lets the name roll off his tongue, hoping to ease the man whose cheek is still glistening wet from either drool or Makkachin's wet kisses. He extends his arm just at the right angle, hoping that Lilia is proud of him,"Starting today, I am your coach, and _I'll_ make you win the Grand Prix Final."

Then he winks, because he's Victor Nikiforov.

Yuuri was frozen until then, sleep muddled mind processing his words slowly until it all caught up to him, and Victor gleefully pinpoints the moment the words clicked, because his jaw drops, and he screeches.

As a person who lives to surprise people, Victor smugly gives himself a pat on the back, quickly whipping the towel around his hips when Toshiya-san pokes his head in and says that his meal is ready, and reminds Yuuri in a too cheery tone that he hasn't shoveled the snow blocking the entrance.

Victor makes his way to go in, noting how the water on his skin is coming off as steam. Yuuri Katsuki still has his jaw open, neck slowly turning pink. By his mortified expression, Victor is sure that the memories of the banquet is looping through his mind. 

Victor is an asshole, so he can't help but tease him a little more; he nudges the shorter man to bring his attention to him and winks again, " _Yoroshiku onegaishimasu_."

* * *

  
He stands in the room the Katsukis have given him, boxes stacked until they brushed the short ceiling. It's nothing like his large, empty apartment in Russia, but like most of sea side town, it's charming. 

"Sorry about this, we only have an unused banquet room available," Yuuri apologetically mumbles, a little out of breath from the boxes. 

Victor is holding his equally out of breath state to the fact that he'd just finished moving a stone bust along with Yuuri, and winks again as Yuuri shoots him a confused glance.

Weird.

Maybe he needs to tone down the winking? Or maybe his memory is bad like Victor's? Then something sharp and unforgiving curls in his stomach.

"Yuuri, tell me everything about you," His movements are fluid as he bends down, fingertips stroking the bottom of Yuuri's chin. He must ask what moisturizer he uses later, "What kind of rink do you skate at? What's in this city? _Is there someone you like?_ "

Victor is a performer. He knows how when to cater to the audience and when to politely shut himself off to smile at the cameras and the pushy reporters. Yuuri hasn't caught onto any of his flirting, and Victor feels cold. What if it was a one time thing? What if Yuuri was just too drunk when he asked Victor to be his coach? What if he's joking? What if Victor took his request too literally?

Yuuri immediately bolts back and stammers out something about a cramp in his leg and flees, leaving Victor alone in his room.

His phone pings and Makkachin barks. He dives for it to see a message from Mila.

_How's it going? Yakov just yelled at the reporters, don't check you twitter. Yura's very angry._

Victor saw the amount of notifications from his social media accounts, and wonders how his phone isn't lagging. He crosses his feet and lets Makkachin sprawl all over him. Yakov will be Yakov. Mila must be on her way with Georgi to the gym after practice since Japan is six hours ahead.

_He's skittish_ , he types back, _I don't know_. There's so many more things he wants to say about his journey thus far, how Aeroflot nearly delayed his flight to South Korea, and how he had a layover there that consisted of Makkachin chasing a pekingese whose owner threw Victor a dirty look. He considers telling Mila of how his second meeting with Yuuri was perhaps a tad too grand, but when he looks down, there's already a reply.

_Don't give up Victor! Be persistent! BE A MAN! STEAL HIS HEART. YOU GO GET HIM, YOU TIGER!_

He gives his phone a puzzled look before another message appears.

_That was Georgi, sorry._

Ah, that would make sense.

_ANYWAY I THINK IT'S GOOD. I DON'T REMEMBER THE LAST TIME YOU HAD TO FIGHT TO DO SOMETHING. THIS CAN IMPROVE YOUR CHARACTER!_

Mila sends him a few more text of encouragements, with Georgi sending his in all caps before they say their goodbyes. Victor turns his head to his poodle and tells him not to scratch the tatami mats, looking up at the ceiling and doing a little introspection of himself.

Georgi had a point.

Victor doesn't recall a time something did not come naturally for him. Skating was easy; Yakov, in the early days of his marriage, had gruffly said to Lilia that Victor was born to skate when he was just starting out under him. He doesn't think much of his personality, always happy to smile for the cameras.

He wonders when he grew tired of smiling, yet his muscles know how to execute it. What he does for a living is muscle training after all. He knows how to take off into all of the possible jumps and their combinations out there. He knows the feeling of his home rink like the back of his hand like he knows the material of the suit he wore for banquets.

Victor knows many things, but he doesn't know Yuuri Katsuki.

Determined with a new sense of vigor, he leaps up to his feet and grabs a pillow, going down the hall to try his luck one more time.

As fickle and sporadic of a person he is, he has no intentions to lose. He will make Yuuri great, else he dies trying so.

Yuuri refuses to have a slumber party with him and Victor goes to sleep, his poodle licking his tears away as he groggily wonders if the universe enjoys laughing at him.  
  



	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for the kind comments!! i've decided to continue this (rip me) but i'm still figuring out the plot, but i'm going by the AU that Victor Gets His Shit Together by the meddling of his friends (because i enjoy writing mila, georgi, chris and soon to be yuri) also, petty victor makes me laugh
> 
> not beta'd
> 
> twitter: @yaboyhajime you can say hi or not, anything is cool (literally cool, there's three feet of snow at my uni and it's hailing help)
> 
> (i follow skating, but i'm not sure when the international competitions occur in a timeline, so apologies for any inconsistencies!)

 

He smiles, enjoying the morning breeze on his face as Hasetsu begins to wake up, the elderly opening windows while little kids make their way to school. After waking up to the realization that he doesn't have to live off bland chicken meat with greens for the foreseeable future and can actually have _real_ food, he hurdled past Makkachin and waited eagerly for Hiroko-san to serve him breakfast.

And it didn't disappoint.

He was about to send some pictures of his udon noodles and tempura to the group chat consisting of the senior skaters back at Russia, but he holds back for fear that Yakov will be hovering over their shoulders when one of them opens it.

He does send one picture to Mila, Georgi, and Chris, captioned, _vksuno!!!!!_

"Vi...Victor," Yuuri pants heavily behind him. Victor turns around and beams Yuuri his million watt smile, laughing slightly when the younger man stumbles as they pass a fisherman, "How come you're on a bike?"

"Oh little piggy~" He sings, watching Makkachin bound ahead of him, "I'm the coach of course, and you need to drop those pounds before we can practice. It won't do you good to get injured this early in the season."

Yuuri mumbles an affirmative as Victor pedals towards the castle looming ahead. He jovially greets the Nishigori family, grinning a little at the triplets when they bombard him with pictures. Pictures are a regular occurrence, and he does have them to thank for posting the video of Yuuri.

Yuuko asks if he wants to skate around for a bit, and Victor cannot resist the ice, so he glides on the rink, freshly smoothed, just how he likes it.

The triplets and Yuuko asks if he can skate the program that won him his 5th gold at worlds, and he doesn't see a reason to say no. After the enthusiastic applause ends, sunlight beaming in from the tall windows, he hears the hums of a guitar in his head and automatically slips into the footwork of Eros.

Encouraged by the squeals and rapid Japanese, he recalls the memory of Yuuri swaying to the music, both of the holding hands as Yuuri leads their dance, and tries put his feelings to his skating. He hopes Yuuri is watching.

Much to his chagrin, Nishigori is chatting to Yuuri, both of them following Victor's movements with a less than focused eye. Victor internally pouts, coming out of the step sequence. Since he's petty, he reminds Yuuri with a smile that he can't step on the ice until he loses weight.

Yuuri deflates a little, and Nishigori laughs.

After a few minutes of Victor sculling backwards and fooling around on the ice, he sees Yuuri wait by the mouth of the rink, and he skates over.

"I'll be going to Minako's now," Victor doesn't even attempt to match the name to the many faces he's met so far, "Do you know how to get home? Nishigori can point you out the way if you ever get lost, a-and Yuu-chan knows how to speak English-"

"I'll be fine Yuuri," He waves the little worry away. Years of travelling around cities has taught him a few things, "What will you be doing at Minako's?"

"Dieting," Yuuri flatly says, deflating even more before giving the ice a wishful look, "I'll see you then, Victor."

He jogs out, not realizing what he'd just done to Victor's mind.

Dieting? As in losing weight? As in losing weight with another person? As in Minako sounds like a girl's name, and Yuuri wants to lose weight along with her? As in Victor was right yesterday night when he had asked Yuuri if he had a lover but Yuuri never gotten around answering him? As in Victor dropped his title of Russia's pride, spent two days shoving everything he wanted to bring along with him to Japan and intruded into Yuuri's life? 

As in...Yuuri doesn't want him anymore?

Yuuko finds him a few minutes later lying on the ice, cheek pressed on the slippery surface. There's a shriek and she rushes to him on socks, ditching her shoes before bending down.

"Victor! Is everything okay? Did you hit your head? Why didn't Yuuri tell me-?!"

"No, no I'm fine," He sits up on the ice and offers a weak smile, "Please don't worry about me."

Yuuko looks at him for a few seconds before a soft smile graces her face, "It's okay to be homesick," She starts, and Victor blinks in confusion, wondering where she got that one from, "moving halfway across the world and away from your friends and family must be hard."

She's half right; but Victor's friends are figure skaters and they all more or less are only available to hang out when they're competing in the same city. Even back at his home rink, Yakov is constantly telling them off if they're chatting too much, his method of torture being suicide runs out in the blizzard.

"-still, I hope that you're not having second thoughts on this decision," Yuuko continues, and Victor is embarrassed that he did not pay his full attention to her, as that's rude and something Lilia had told him off for in the early days, "Yuuri really is one of the hardest workers I've ever met."

"I don't like people who fool around."

Yuuko politely shoots him a confused look, and Victor is horrified. He doesn't normally run his mouth off about other skaters like that, especially if he himself had fooled around during the competitive season. He opens his mouth to backpedal but Yuuko laughs.

"Is this about Yuuri? Minako-san is his ballet teacher, they go back when Yuuri was still stumbling around the studio," She brings out her phone and shows him a picture of an absolutely adorable child with pink cheeks and a blue and yellow sweater with a big Y on the front. Victor's heart does that clenching thing he'd only felt during the banquet night months ago, and he doesn't stop the soft cooing from his mouth.

"So cute! I want to pinch those cheeks!!"

"I know right?" Yuuko laughs. She tells him to swipe, and Victor is treated with pictures of young Yuuri on skates, young Yuuri going to school, young Yuuri standing next to his older sister on the beach, and a few others. "Yuuri started out as a dancer, but I pestered him to try skating, and well," She grins up at him, "here he is today!"

Victor smiles, takes a last look of Yuuri and his cherubic cheeks, and returns the phone back to Yuuko, "I'm not homesick...I don't feel any attachments to being out of the country for some time, but..."

"But...?"

He will stop talking bad about Yuuri, as he has intruded enough on Yuuko's kindness. From the babble outside, there must be a group of classes held up by him hogging the rink, "Ah it is nothing, I'm sure it's because I've never taken a season off."

Yuuko nods sympathetically, handing him his jacket as Victor brushes the ice shaving off his blades and puts his guards on.

He thanks the Nishigoris and waves at the triplets, but before leaving, he asks Yuuko if there's a cafe nearby.

He orders ice tea and a cheesecake, enjoying the perks of not having to follow a strict diet as he opens his Instagram messages (he's not touching Twitter quite yet). Makkachin gnaws on a jerky Victor carries with him at all times, watching nearby seagulls peck the ground.

christophe-gc: ooo that looks good!

christophe-gc: are you in japan?

christophe-gc: you know, coincidences aside, hasetsu is also the home of yuuri katsuki

christophe-gc: ;)

Victor feels the cheesecake stick in his throat and groans. Of course it's futile to keep anything away from Chris.

v-nikiforov: ...

christophe-gc: ;)))))

v-nikiforov: ugh fine

v-nikiforov: hasetsu's a charming town

v-nikiforov: the flight here was not so.

christophe-gc: i bet yuuri katsuki is also charming

v-nikiforov: he's skittish, i think i scared him

christophe-gc: oh, so you are with him

christophe-gc: all of twitter wants to know where you are

christophe-gc: from what i hear from georgi, yakov's pissed

v-nikiforov: of course yakov is pissed

christophe-gc: and yuri is furious

Victor finds it a little confusing why Yura would be mad. If Victor's gone that means he can collide less with him since they train on the same end of the rink. 

christophe-gc: so

christophe-gc: since the entire world wants to know this, and  **i** certainly want to know

christophe-gc: is it true? you're coaching?

v-nikiforov: well

christophe-gc: and please be honest, i know what you looked like when the poor kid asked you to be his coach when he was hammered

v-nikiforov: ...i really like him

Victor puts his phone face down on the table and concentrates on his cheesecake for the next few minutes, sliding on a pair of sunglasses out of habit.

Gala exhibition at the GPF, no Yuuri. Worlds, no Yuuri. European Championships, no Yuuri. Four Continents, no Yuuri either. And Victor certainly can't participate in the Nationals in Japan, so it has been months he hasn't seen Yuuri, only relying on the official videos from the competition and past youtube videos, where most of them were shaky and not HD enough. 

A worker cleans up his table and he says a crisp thank you in Japanese, because he certainly did something productive on his fourteen hour flight from Moscow to South Korea. He checks his phone with a twist in his stomach, wondering what Chris will say.

christophe-gc: oh

christophe-gc: oh well um

christophe-gc: ...shit you're serious

christophe-gc: hey answer me asshole

christophe-gc: okay fine, don't answer me, i'll just ramble then

christophe-gc: i don't mind you taking a season off...lots of people do that

christophe-gc: but coaching?

christophe-gc: you're responsible for him now, you can't be fickle and drop him halfway. are you sure you're ready for that?

christophe-gc: and not just a random skater, but with yuuri?

christophe-gc: you're going to coach someone you harbour feelings for?

Victor looks at his phone until it automatically shuts off to conserve power. Makkachin noses the ground before giving chase to the seagulls. He can see the train wreck already. He's heard of scandals of coach and student surfacing to the skating community, and this will be worse because he's inexperienced and all eyes are already on him from vanishing.

Chris didn't type it out, but Victor knows that this can very well ruin his career, if he even wants to return after this.

Then he thinks about the way Yuuri performed his routine. 

When Yakov briefed him on his performance over breakfast when they returned to Russia, Victor wonders how on earth did he walk away with a gold medal.

He opens his phone.

v-nikiforov: chris, do you think i deserved that gold medal?

christophe-gc: what

v-nikiforov: because when i watched my program with yakov i don't know how i even got the gold. it's a perfect performance technical wise, but i deserve less on my presentation score. yuuri performed it with more heart than what i'm capable of. 

Chris doesn't reply, and lets Victor fumble with words, typing sentences and deleting them until he's tired and just smashes words together.

v-nikiforov: i don't know how to put this into words, but yes. yes i'm chasing after the man who took my heart and praying that he can reciprocate it because he is everything i am not. 

He turns his phone off then, and whistles for Makkachin to follow him. He pedals leisurely back to Yu-topia, stopping at the beach and thankful that it's still too cold for anyone to be enjoying the place so he can have it alone. He throws a tennis ball, but it gets lost in the sand somewhere and Makkachin is too big to squeeze into the spaces between the driftwood, so he starts throwing sticks.

He doesn't know Yuuri's personal life, but by the looks of it, it _is_ the complete opposite of his. While Victor is surrounded by his loose band of rival skaters, flanked with their own team of coaches, choreographers, and fitness trainers, Yuuri is surrounded by his friends, and a family who more or less do not push any pressure that he must place first in any competition. 

Their personalities are even comparable in the skating community. He knows that Celestino is the polar opposite of Yakov's coaching skills, having encouraged Yuuri with smiles and lots of pats on the back when it looked like he had dragged him to the banquet. Half of the videos Victor had watched on his phone in the subsequent days after the GPF showed that Yuuri allowed his nervousness get the best of him. With the help of google translate (which isn't all that reliable sometimes), he reads of the small fan base of Yuuri's in Kyuushu, follows the words "the figure skater with the world's biggest glass heart", finding it accurate.

...Maybe they both can help each other out in their slumps. Victor doesn't want to leave the ice this early, but he's been burnt out in the past few years while rumors pegged Yuuri retiring after his GPF.

Makkachin decides that Victor's become a useless stick thrower, so Victor gets tackled into the sand.

After dusting as much sand possible out, and throwing a dirty look at his poodle, he now heads back with sand down his underwear and the prospect of digging Makkachin's brush from the many boxes he still has to unpack. His steps are still unsure, as he takes off his shoes in the genkan and pads to his room, leaving Makkachin outside so he doesn't carry dirt into the house, but his head feels a little clearer.

For the first time, the churning in his gut doesn't go away. He's unsure of what the future holds.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hate the messaging format i might change it ugh


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a little heart to heart between victor and yuuko
> 
> holy shit i can't believe it's ending next week?? im already choked
> 
> not beta'd

 

His days go like this: 

In the morning, he rises with the sun out of habit and allows Makkachin to do her doggy business as he yawns. When she's done, Victor sits in the genkan and wipes her paws before tiptoeing back to his room, changing into a set of sweats and going out for a morning run. Sadly, as much as he loves being on off-season mode, it's not doing him any good. If he wants to help Yuuri, he needs to be in tip top shape too, so he usually runs on the sand for an effective workout that leaves his calves on fire or goes up a nearby temple's steps.

He then joins Yuuri for breakfast, who indulges in Victor's many questions as they watch the early morning cartoons when he doesn't understand something. Towards the end of their meal, Victor lays out his own workout schedule that will help Yuuri lose his weight (complete with exercises that hit every muscle group), and watches him wilt when the younger man mumbles that Minako-sensei has a similar schedule planned out, except it involves ballet.

Yuuri tells him a few cool spots in the town and a list of restaurants he thinks Victor will like, and goes off to Minako's. They meet up again for lunch, and Victor helps Yuuri with his exercises until dinner, and then they sleep.

Victor will usually lounge around the inn exchanging emails with his music composer or explore, but recently, he's been distracted. Chris hasn't said anything, but that might just be the result of a hectic travel day between airports. The group chat involving him and his rink mates finally quieted down when they realize Victor's not keen on replying even though he's seen the messages.

The unhappiness oozes into his skating. With his mind still going in circles about the conversation he had with Chris the other day, he flubs a simple triple toe and saves himself from a bruised face by slapping a palm down quickly on ice.

"Something on your mind?"

It's Yuuko, she smiles softly at him from the barrier.

"A lot, actually," He confesses.

"...Do you want to talk about it?"

Victor has always maintained a certain closeness he's proud of with people not in his immediate circle. With the skaters, he unfurls his petals halfway, and with Chris, he allows the man to see a little more, having to known him since he debuted as a senior. With his fans, he has perfected being open while deflecting any personal question with a smart comment that will lead the conversation elsewhere or with his signature, million watt Nikiforov smile.

Victor belated realized that he's basically friendless, and wonders if the ice is a good place for curling up while he thinks about his nth mid life crisis.

Yuuko's still smiling at him, "You can talk in Russian if it makes you feel any better. I can only understand the word 'thank you'."

Somehow, it brings a short laugh out of Victor, but he takes her up to it, glad to talk in his mother tongue for the first time in days, " _I hate being flaky. This is not who I am; I pride myself in being dedicated to my craft. I don't remember the last time I felt happy about a gold. Have I been spending the better part of my twenties tricking myself that I still have inspiration for the sport?_ " He digs his toe pick on the ice, " _Watching Yuuri skate freely made me jealous of how fun he was having, and that he did my routine justice. What's a world champion have to do to do that? It should be the opposite!_ "

He skates in a small circle, doing a lazy twizzle as Yuuko watches him, " _And as for Yuuri, Chris brought up a good point! What if I can't do this? This can very well ruin both our careers!_ " Yakov's words to the reporters came to his mind, " _I'm selfish and I'm an asshole. I want to compete for many more years, but when my breaking point came to me, Yuuri asked me to come, and here I am, afraid and unsure of what I even can do because I don't want to fail!_ "

When he looks up, Yuuko blinks at him, shock etched on her face. 

"Y-You said the last part in English."

"I what?" He blankly stares at her, "No, I think you heard wrong. I said it all in Russian."

She nervously swallows, "'-And here I am, afraid and unsure of what I even can do because I don't want to fail.'"

They stare at each other for a few moments, Victor becoming less of Victor the ice skater and Victor the human. Yuuko blinks her large eyes up at him, and Victor doesn't know what expression he's holding, but the rink never felt colder, his cheeks combating that by heating up, the heat trickling down the back of his neck.

"Um!" Yuuko decides to break the silence, waving her hands in front of her, "I-I think it's fine to be unsure of yourself sometimes!" She puts her hands on the barrier, leaning forward, "It can't be as hard as mastering the quad flip, right?"

He blinks, recalling that interview that was _so long ago_ , "They translated it into Japanese?" He remembers how Yakov had yelled at him for months, forbidding him to spend free time with his rink mates because they have a competition coming up. In the end, they never cleanly got it under his belt in time, but Victor learned persistence and diligence from it. He was only in his second or third year in the senior circuit, but that was a wake up call, and after that quad flip, he flourished and took every gold under the sun.

"They did," She beams at him, then softens her smile, looking a little motherly, "Everyone is unsure of themselves whenever they're trying something new, it's understandable."

He sighs, "It's different. There are many things I wish I had asked Yakov before I left." 

"All with time, Victor," She offers him his guards, looking down at her phone, "It's almost lunch, I think Yuuri's back from Minako's."

"Thank you," He accepts his guards, hiking his leg up to brush the shavings off so he doesn't have bend down and show his thinning hair, "For extending a listening ear."  


* * *

  
He helps Yuuri with cardio, being a cheerleader and a good stick thrower this time around for Makkachin as they wait for Yuuri to run up the temple stairs, though at the rate he's going, Victor could probably beat him with one leg. Yuuri's face is unnaturally red, and Victor worries; maybe they should take a break after this. 

Victor leads a cool down stretch near a bench and tells Makkachin not to bite the friendly birds. He offers a water bottle to Yuuri, who weakly takes it with a murmur of thanks, smiling gratefully as he drinks half the bottle. Victor feels the same way about water; Yakov barely let him take water breaks when he was young.

First Yura tells him his forehead is big, then snarks him for having thinning hair, and now even he sees himself as old. 

Victor glooms about for a minute or two, before noticing that Yuuri has come to sit on the other end of the bench, cheeks still lightly flushed from exertion. 

Who will he be this time? Victor the coach or Victor the human?

"Do you like Minako, Yuuri?"

Yuuri yelps and waves his hands around again, reminiscent of Yuuko. Maybe one of them rubbed off each other? His nervousness was cute though, so Victor prods him a little too gleefully again, glad that Yuuri doesn't mind him being pushy and nosy, "Do you have a lover?"

"...No."

"Any previous lovers?" He nearly sings, chanting and praying to the god of the temple nearby that Yuuri will say no.

"...No comment." YES! Victor is so relieved that Yuuri is unattached that he starts babbling about his previous relationship (which was a long time ago), being cut off when Yuuri raises his voice. He doesn't push any further, already regretting his choice of words since Yuuri starts playing with his fingers when there's an awkward silence between them. 

Makkachin barks behind them, and Victor spots the castle, eyes going wide.  


* * *

  
His mouth dries.

Mila: so yura's ditching

Georgi: yea, thought we'd let you know 

Victor stares at the group chat consisting of him and the two aforementioned, dumbfounded. What do they mean Yuratchka's not at practice? Aside from Georgi, he might be the only one who endures Yakov's killer suicide runs with the least amount of complaining. Did he quit skating? Was it because Yakov finally broke him? Was it something else? Was it because Victor forgot to do something?

Victor: what do you mean he's skipping??

Mila: he didn't show up to practice today

Georgi: yakov's been calling him all day and he's not picking up

Mila: i, for once, can take as many water breaks as i can

Georgi: maybe he's taking a weekend off, but really, he should have told yakov first. his debut is coming up.

Mila: maybe he forgot?

Victor snorts. Mila has a soft spot for him.

Georgi: still rude.

Georgi: anyway, nice picture you posted. how's the weather there?

Victor nearly writes an essay of how Hasetsu has been so far when he stops.

Oh, that's right, he posted that picture on Instagram. Maybe that's why his phone is blowing up with notifications again.

In the morning, he makes a beeline to the kitchen and peeks in, making eye contact with Hiroko.

"Please prepare yourself," He solemnly says in English, then again in Japanese before retreating to swallow his breakfast and run before the reporters catch him.

He loves being adored, but he figures that Yura's disappearance and his Instagram post is connected somehow. 

Throughout the week, he mostly avoids the cameramen and reporters, sneaking around like he used to when he came onto the scene and all of the skating community wanted to know who he is. It's slightly fun, dodging and sneaking around town as he helps Yuuri with his afternoon regiment (they even made a game out of it), but as Yuuri's cheekbones starts to show, Victor breathes.

Then he remembers that the universe likes to laugh at him.

" _You look like you're doing great, Victor!_ "

Smiling as he turns around, he spots Yuri with his usual leopard print and hoodie. _Unbelievable_ , how did he manage to convince Yakov to allow him a break before his debut? "Yuri!" Though he's quite a few feet away from the barrier, he can feel Yuri's wrath coming off in waves, "I'm surprised Yakov let you come, what brings you here?"

Yuri throws him the foulest look Victor has ever seen grace his young face, and he chortles, knowing exactly what he did. He forgot to do something didn't he?

Yuri adamantly says that a promise is a promise, and yes, Victor agrees, he doesn't like to go back on promises, but he doesn't want to leave Hasetsu.

He's comfortable in this small town, and he likes that the locals here have begun treating him like Victor the human instead of Victor the skater. He's already teaching the triplets twizzles and some footwork a few times each week. He's comfortable enough to order a simple ramen and talk about the weather to the noodle master instead of pointing at the menu.

Ah but the way Yuri is seething at Yuuri reminds him of how the former kept hissing about how there will be two Yuris in the senior bracket this season. Victor had paid no attention to it back then, wondering where he can nap before the GPF would start.

Victor loves surprises, but he also loves scheming. It's a terrible and childish side of him, but he figures a little competition won't hurt, and it'll give him something to send back to Yakov to prove that he's not chasing a booty call and is actually serious. Both Yuris screech and Victor makes a note to go to the corner store to buy earplugs afterwards. 

When Yuuri is called away to help his sister clear a room for Yuri, Yura turns to him with a dark glare, switching to Russian.

" _What the fuck?_ "

"Language," Victor tsked, sipping some brew, "Or as Lilia would say, ' _It's not beautiful_ '."

"What? Who's Lilia?"

"Never mind, you'll find out soon."

Yuri cleans his bowl as he talks, or rather, yells, "I _cannot_ believe you flew all the way here to give up your career! You're a disgrace to Russia! What kind of athlete thinks about his own competitor as a potential crush? Come back home, Victor!" He crosses his arms, "You would have won another title with those routines! _What can the Japanese Yuri give you??_ "

Yuratchka wouldn't understand, only being fifteen, "Not everything is life is about winning, Yura," He keeps his tone light because he could go on a tangent about the meaning of life and how they're all but a speck in the galaxy, but he's not drunk enough for that yet, "You'll understand it when you're older."

"I'm going to crush him!" Yuri announces, slamming a hand on the table and not blinking an eye as Hiroko takes his already stacked dishes and trades it for some mochi, "I'm going to prove it that he's only hindering you! And then you will come back with me!"

Victor coolly looks at him, narrowing his eyes and letting his bangs sweep across his eyebrows until Yuri's expression twitches with uncertainty, "We'll see about that."

Yuri's face pulls itself into a disgusted frown, and he goes on his phone. Victor looks at Yuuri's half full bowl, wondering where he went. Mari pops back in, Yuuri-less, and Victor asks, grabbing his coat on the way and ignoring Yuri's questions of where he's going.

Eros and Agape are what the titles of his music for the upcoming season would be. He had just gotten the full, final product sent a few hours ago, and he thumbs the play button on his phone, listening to it as he walks to Minako's. The songs perfectly describes the mad sanity Yuuri had put him into after his disappearance. Mila had chuckled about how Victor can now bond with Georgi, who's always swooning over Anya when they have breaks, and Victor finally understands his rink mate a little bit more. 

"Yura probably wants Eros," He mumbles to himself, walking out of the bar and towards Ice Castle when Minako says Yuuri would be at her ballet studio and not at the bar, "and Yuuri would probably feel better skating Agape." But it would be so much better if they switch! Surprise is always good. He doesn't see why he should give them what they want.

Then he warily smiles, it's not as if he hasn't been surprised in the past year. Who would have thought he would be this smitten with another skater when all he had were vapid relationships in the past?

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> jj appears (not physically appear) next chapter and i can't wait to show y'all :')
> 
> idk how many chapters this is going to be...sort of thinking that this will end after onsen on ice? but maybe i'll push it further.... thoughts?


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i can't find leo's ig name so....yup.  
> thank you for the comments! i cherish every one of them deep in my frozen canadian heart
> 
> snowstorm tonight, pls pray for me
> 
> not beta'd

 

Victor wakes to his phone all blowing up from the other, larger group chat that consisted of the all senior skaters who qualified for ISU competitions, irritated as he cracks his eyelids open to thumb through the chat. Who started it and why? It's off season! And! And he was having a good dream!

Jjleroy!15: Victor!!  
  
Jjleroy!15: I never knew you're hosting an ice-off!  
  
Jjleroy!15: -link-  
  
leodliglesia: JJ do you know what time it is?!!  
  
Jjleroy!15: Sorry Leo!  
  
gpopovich: lmao  
  
mbabicheva: is there going to be a livestream?  
  
sara-crispino: ooh! I can't wait for another Yuri vs. Yuuri!  
  
phichit+chu: ?????  
    
Chris sends a sticker of a laughing cat before promoting his snapchat account. Then, there's a fire of everyone sending their snap code and Victor rolls his eyes.

Ruffled from the early wake up call, he ignores Jjleroy!15's _Victor!! Why aren't you responding? I know you saw this!!_ in favour of going for a morning soak. He needs it.

He fires a long thank you email to his music commissioner team and eats an early breakfast before leaving for the rink. Victor goes through the movements of warming up, cheerily saying hi to the triplets before they have to leave for school. He tests the ice as Yuuri and Yuri crash through the rink doors, heaving.

"Oho, did you two have a little race?" He charmingly greets them. Yuri splutters about how it's none of his business, wheezing all the while. Victor hands Yuuri his phone to connect to the portable stereo system, telling Yuri to watch because his program is up first. Agape is a reflection of Yuuri's sweet nature, calm and soothing. Victor's devilish side wonders if Yuri will be able to perform it to _his_ caliber since Yuri is anything but calm and soothing when he's on ice.  
  
_That mouth can be improved, though_ , Victor thinks as he watches Yura hiss at Yuuko when she claps. "Alright Yuuri, you're next!"

Yuuri yelps, fumbling with the remote as Victor takes a starting position, his mouth curling into a small grin as the guitar begins, waving his arms like how Yuuri had elegantly spun around with a champagne bottle over his head. He shoots a smirk towards the trio at the sides, and goes straight into the footwork, enjoying the awestruck jaws dropping and Yuuri's eyes widening, albeit a little horrified.

Ah, someone must have remembered! 

Yura is screaming about a nose bleed and Victor tries to recall Yuuri's short and free program last season, wishing he'd pay closer attention to the TV monitor instead of napping when all he comes up is vague memories of him continuously falling down. The technical component scores were acceptable for a GPF finalist, yet he crashed and burned.... 

If it was his first time qualifying for the Grand Prix Finals, then nerves might be the problem, but Victor can fix that. He just needs to boost Yuuri's morale!

"How was it?" He asks, hand on one hip as he gives an easy smile, beckoning Yuuri to step into the rink.

Yuuri fumbles for words, "Oh, um! It was v-very Eros!"

Pleased, Victor nods, "Right?" He asks what quads Yuuri can land, a little off put that he hasn't landed a salchow in competition. No matter! It took Victor forever to do a flip anyway, "I'll teach Yurio first then," Yura usually picks up the choreography faster than most of Yakov's students, so if he does that then Victor can spend the rest of his time helping Yuuri. Ah, but he wonders, "Yuri, you have the skill to win, why can't you do it?"

Yuuri looks down and plays with his fingers, "Well that's because...I lack confidence."

He softens his voice, "Right, and my job is to make you feel confident in yourself."

Yuuri shamefully continues to twiddle his fingers, and Victor's heart squeezes, deciding that he could use a pick-me-up.

He glides forward, hand cupping Yuuri's face and skims his thumb across his bottom lip until he can almost feel Yuuri's cold nose, keeping eye contact with the skater, "No one in the whole wide world knows your true eros, Yuuri, it may be a side of you that you're unaware of," He murmurs quietly, heart aching just a little because Yuuri is so, _so_ talented but he doesn't see it himself, "Can you show me what it is soon?"

" _Hey Victor! Aren't you teaching me first?!_ "

That's right, he had promised Yura. Victor glides back, ordering Yura to come warm up and telling Yuuri to think about what Eros means to him before sending him off. He pushes the picture of Yuuri blushing deep into his mind; he's coaching now.

During dinner, Victor eats another katsudon bowl since he'd worked hard, ignoring the present state of his students slumped on the table. His phone is buzzing periodically from the group chat again since he posted another picture of his food. Jjleroy!15 smugly types about how he'll take Victor's place at the GPF this season, but he doesn't get much support since his comment gets buried under Chris's _hey old man_   _stop it with the food porn!-_

Yuuri leaps up, eyes shining and practically beaming, "That's it! Katusdon! That's what eros is to me!!"

Victor accidentally makes eye contact with Yura and is sent a sneer. Ah, he should turn his phone off. Mila and the entire Russian team will know by tomorrow morning.

Yuuri looks so embarrassed that Victor gives a short (depressed) laugh, "Sure, let's go with that," He then nudges Yura under the table to stop him from laughing, but Yuuri's bottom lip begins to wobble.

Yuri snickers, "Seriously?"

Victor kicks him in the shins, glaring over his bowl as Makkachin follows Yuuri out the room.

" _Yura!_ " Victor hisses, appalled.

"Look Victor, he's not even acknowledging it! Go home with me already!" 

"Even if he's not acknowledging it, Yura, you can learn a thing or two from him. Your step sequence-"

"You're still prattling on about that? Open your eyes Victor!" Yuri glares at him, "He's a moping mess and you're not gaining anything by staying here! Can't you see he's only bringing you down?"

" _Stop underestimating him!_ " Yuri stares up at him, eyes wide.

Victor's own shock is reflected in Yura's eyes, the apples of his cheeks darkening as if to accentuate his anger even more. A choked sound comes out of the fifteen year old's throat, and that spurs Victor to start stacking his bowls with a frightening speed to hide his shaking hands. He flies to the kitchens to deposit his bowls before closing his bedroom door shut, breathing hard.

Yuuri is one of the top 10 skaters  _in the world._  How can Yura not realize that?

Then a more pressing problem: he doesn't remember the last time he raised his voice like that. Sure he sometimes yells for a water break so his voice can be carried over Yakov's and Yura's combined screaming, but n _ever- never in anger, never with the ill intent of shutting up someone, never with so much hate curdling behind his throat._

He contemplates messaging Chris or Georgi, but buries his head in his many pillows. Yuri can make him so angry sometimes that it's a wonder how Mila tolerates him.  


* * *

  
Mila: ...victor...

Victor: what  
  
Mila: yuratchka told me what happened a few nights ago

Georgi: you shouldn't have yelled at him, vitya 

Victor gawks at his phone, pausing in the middle of eating at Nagahama Ramen as his closest rink mates betray him. Both his students are having trouble with their respective programs and he's been racking his brain thinking of ways to teach them about Eros and Agape and _now_ they're calling him out when he has his alone time??

Victor: excuse me??? do you even know what he said about yuuri??

Georgi: i'm pretty sure yuuri has more backbone than you give him credit for.

Georgi: if he doesn't he wouldn't have made it this far

Mila: i agree that yura took things too far, but yuuri doesn't seem to be bothered by it did he?

Georgi: yeah, you're not freaking out about him crying or anything. i bet he came to practice and listened to all your instructions

Victor: what did yura say

Mila: something along the lines of, 'the asshole in the v-neck fucking lost it and lectured me about not underestimating the pig!'

Mila: yura's a brat, but he's only fifteen, keep that in mind

Georgi: we were all a handful back then, try to put yourself in his shoes

Mila: he's the main source of income for his family you know

Mila: it's no surprise that he's that ambitious

Victor: ...

Georgi: anyways, we look forward to the show!

Mila: yea! davai! davai!

He closes the chat and sulks, ordering some sake.   


* * *

  
Along with the delivery of his old costumes, because he knows that Yura didn't bring any with him and Yuuri probably wasn't expecting to need one so soon, he gives Hiroko, Toshiya and Mari some confectioneries from his home country. When he goes back to his room, Yura and Yuuri are peering at his clothes with a certain giddiness that reminds him of children on a Christmas morning. Victor fondly watches over them, ignoring the scuffs on his (very expensive) suitcases.

"Victor what's this?" Yuuri holds up a black square bag with lots of zippers, letting out a nervous squeak when the contents on the inside tumble.

"Oh that's my make up that Mila helped me pack," Yura opens one zipper, balking when he sees the expensive make up as Victor grins, "Do the both of you want your make up to be done by me? I can do your hair too!"

"No, no! It's okay!"

Victor dramatically puts the back of one hand on his forehead, sighing, "That's true, your skin are still youthful after all..."

"At least you won't have to worry about grey hair," Yura snickers, and Victor shoots him a flat look.

Later that night when his students have fallen asleep and Victor can hear Yura's snores, he grabs his phone and opens a chat.

v-nikiforov: chris

v-nikiforov: chris am i old

christophe-gc: what

v-nikiforov: georgi i'm still young right

christophe-gc: sigh

gpopovich: same shit, different day i tell you

christophe-gc: how are we even still friends with him

gpopovich: i ask myself that everyday

v-nikiforov: QQ

 

Jjleroy!15: -link- 

Jjleroy!15: IT'S STARTING!  
  
gpopovich: ain't it bed time for you young'uns?

+guanghongji+: :((

mbabicheva: that's not nice georgi

mbabicheva: is that...victor's costume from his junior days

sara-crispino: it is!!

gpopovich: wth i thought i would never see it again

Jjleroy!15: I have a better sense of style than him.

christophe-gc: typical

Jjleroy!15: Excuse me?

mickey-crispino: oh it's yuri

mickey-crispino: not bad

leodliglesia: is that another costume from victor's junior days?

v-nikiforov: yes

Jjleroy!15: Just so you know, I would have performed the step sequence better than Yuuri

christophe-gc: nice choreography for both of them!

v-nikiforov: thanks

Jjleroy!15: Stop ignoring me!

seung-gillee: ...

sara-crispino: seung gil!

sara-crispino: where have you been? you missed the livestream

seung-gillee:  _i'm muting everyone one of you_

mickey-crispino: HEY DON'T TALK TO MY SISTER LIKE THAT  


* * *

  
"Yura's flight just landed," He shuts off his phone and places it beside him as Yuuri chews, reaching for his chopsticks, "Mila's picking him up from the airport."

"That's good," Yuuri warmly says before his smile slips, "I wish I could have said a proper goodbye to him."

"He'd probably bite your hand if you tried that."

Yuuri cracks a smile at Victor's joke, "What are we doing today?"

"Ah we're resting, I don't like overworking," A small voice in his head that suspiciously sounds like Chris snorts, "I was thinking we can plan your free program out and get started on your costume and music ideas." It's not as if Victor doesn't know Yuuri's tendencies to skate at the ice castle when he's anxious, so he pushes the annoying voice further into the back of his mind.

"Sure, what were you thinking of for the costume?"

"Is there a theme you want to do first of all? An image you want to pursue?"

Yuuri breaks eye contact with him, ears darkening, "N-No, I don't really know yet."

Victor doesn't physically frown, but he thought they were getting along much better these days after he had boosted Yuuri's confidence with Onsen on Ice, "Well," He puts a hand on his chin, "Since you worked very hard to slim your waist, I think we should tailor a suit like costume to emphasize that, what do you think?"

"A-Anything you say."

"And we should make the back of the suit shorter," Victor winks, "I think dark blue would suit your complexion."

Yuuri turns pink but nods, and Victor really wants to pinch those cheeks, but refrains himself and instead draws out a drawing pad and pencil. He begins explaining what Yuuri can improve on with Eros, and he doesn't stop talking until his ramen has grown cold and the sun is already high up in the sky, "Goodness," He checks his phone, "Why didn't you stop me?"

"You look...really into your element that I didn't want to interrupt," More fidgeting, it's going to be the death of him, Victor decides. 

Yuuri's face turns into a tomato, and he scrambles and mumbles something about going for a quick run before hightailing out of the room. Victor lies on the wooden floors and lets Makkachin sniff him, burying his fingers into the soft coat, "Still as skittish as ever..."

 

On one of their rare days off where Yuuri  _actually_ relaxed and did no exercise of any kind, he leads Victor around town after dinner and both stopped at a cafe that overlooked the beach where they had reached an understanding two weeks ago (not that Victor can tell because it's already dark out). The owner smiles at them and rings up both of their orders before any of them can speak a word. Yuuri's an apparent regular back in the days then.

"Go sit outside! It's a lovely evening!"

"Thank you, Tanaka-san," The owner grins and carries their cakes and drinks on a tray for them, wiping the chairs from any stray leaves before walking back in. Victor settles into his chair, keeping his phone in his pocket.

"What was the first thing Yakov taught you?"

Taken back by the sudden question, the cheesecake misses Victor's mouth and he feels cream on the side of his mouth. He looks at Yuuri, who's profile is lit from the cafe lights. The last of the sun's rays weakly hits his other side, but Victor can barely see it, "Where is this coming from?" He's elated! The wonders of communication are godsend!

"Just wondering about your early years as a skater," Yuuri slowly says, poking his black forest with a fork as Makkachin follows the movement with hopeful eyes, "You were on top of the world at 16, and you've clung onto it for eleven years...so I was curious."

Victor puts his chin in his hand, looking at a spot over Yuuri's shoulder, "Eleven huh? It was that long ago...." It seemed only yesterday that he cut his hair and was introduced to a feisty Yura, "I got there by hard work, but I guess I did have a talent. Moving my body was easy, and I fell in love with the ice.

"The first thing Yakov taught me other than to not dig the end of my blade into the ice was to brush off any mistakes when I'm performing and continue," Victor recounts, "It's the sort of general advice all performers are told, so I'm sure Celestino must have told you the same at some point."

Yuuri looks contemplative, his lashes almost brushing his glasses as it slips down his nose before he pushes hit back up without thinking. Summer is on the cusp of bursting in with the full force of Tokyo's legendary monsoons that Victor has heard so often. The air is heavier than normal, and the seas, though calm, are expected to rise in the next couple of days. Victor's never been glad to practice an indoor sport, having already ordered a Dyson fan to be delivered from a nearby electronics store.

Eleven years.

And then he spent nine more years before that learning how to skate and dominating the junior circuit.

Has it really been twenty years?

"Victor?" Yuuri's eyebrows pulls up and Victor wants to reach across the small circular table and smooth them out, "You look sad..."

"Don't worry about it."

Yuuri's reply was immediate, "I'm sorry for asking."

"No, Yuuri, I'm glad we're talking more," God that sounds so lame in his mouth, but he really is happy, "It's only fair that you get to know me too." Then he adds, "Although it's hard to remember what I've said in interviews..."

"Do you find it hard at first? To talk to the media?"

"Not really, Yakov always gave me extra laps to run for since my mouth would never properly shut when I started out, and I like smiling for the cameras," He flashes Yuuri a muted, tired Nikiforov grin, "Did I tell you how Lilia opened my mouth wide and checked over my teeth when she first met me?"

This earns a laugh out of Yuuri, "They must think of you like a son by now."

"You should have seen Yakov when I was leaving, I think Yurio rubbed off of him- he wouldn't stop grinding his teeth at me while he accompanied me to the airport."

Yuuri smiles again, looking up from under his lashes. Whatever he says next goes into one ear and out the other. Victor can only focus on how softly his cheeks are flushing, and how his chest seems to be inflating from within in a suffocating fashion.

_Shit.  
  
_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> victor totally refers to JJ as Jjleroy!15 in his head.  
> can you actually mute an instagram conversation? lol someone save seung-gil


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> according to a reddit thread, the russian "haha" is "xaxa" because the x in cyrillic sounds like a hard h in the roman alphabet. if i offended you or if i'm not even close please tell me and i'll fix it  
> mdr is "mort de rire" which means death by laughing 
> 
> hm you know i've made this georgi friendlier than his anime counterpart...not sure how it'll affect ep 6 but i'll figure something out

The plums are just about finishing ripening when the monsoon season wanes and the Grand Prix assignments are announced.

"I'll see you in China then," Chris says after Georgi says a hasty goodbye because he to go back to practice, "You and the object of your affections."

Victor feels his cheeks warm, but doesn't see his skin darken from his little icon on their video chat, "Are you teasing me?"

"Hi Victor!" Chris's boyfriend waves as Chris moves from the living room to the kitchen, where Victor sees his friend's skin being illuminated by what he assumes is the fridge light. There's a quick exchange of German- something about onions from Victor's very limited vocabulary- between the two males before Chris straightens and the artificial yellow glow disappears.

"He says hi," Chris relays his message since they're both wearing earbuds, and walks back to the living room, biting into an apple, "Maybe I am teasing you. Being a pathetic twenty-seven year old looks good on you, Vitya."

"' _Pathetic?_ '"

"Sure," Then Victor gets a sense of deja vu, "It's fun to see you struggle a little bit. Humility does wonders to a king."

"Chris, are you actually enjoying my pain?"

There's a light knock on his bedroom and Victor hastily pulls one ear free as Yuuri sticks his head inside, Makkachin perking up from where she's laying on the rug, "Victor? I'm going out for a quick run." 

"HELLO LOVER BOY!" Chris exclaims, as if Yuuri can hear him.

Victor smiles as his ears are deafened, chirping, "Sure, don't stay out too late!" When the door slides back close, he looks back down and growls at Chris, "I'm going to shave your head in China."

"Rude."

"Excuse me? I can recall one memory of your senior debut where you begged me to-"

" _We do not talk about that, Victor!_ "

Victor puts a hand on his chin, "I wonder what other embarrassing stories I should tell to Yuuri's old rink mate, you know, the one I haven't gotten around saying hi to, that Phichit Chulanot-"

"Stop being a jerk, you dick," Chris scowls, "How's your protege anyway? Yuri."

"Ah," Victor scratches his chin, "I got a message from him the other day. I think he was apologizing, but he said it in such a Yuri-fashion that if I did ask him to reconfirm, he would pretend to not know what I was talking about," Chris looks blankly at him, "You know, I told you a while back about how he keeps underestimating Yuuri."

"Right, when you lost your patience with him," Chris breezily says, "Well, it's good that he apologized." A second later, he asks, "Are you worried?"

"About?"

"If he'll replace your legacy."

"My legacy? I don't care about that anymore. There's always going to be better and younger people ready to replace any of us."

The line of Chris's mouth is unhappy, and he sighs as he looks past his phone camera, "That's true, when was twenty-five even considered old? ...How's your Yuuri?"

Victor likes the sound of that more than he should, "Good? I don't know. Aside from correcting his technical skills I don't really know how to else to support him. He honestly works harder than us, Chris, it's amazing. He's been great so far, I don't even have to act like Yakov. Yet."

"Still skittish?"

A memory of Yuuri's looking up at him as his glasses droops makes Victor realize how warm the air is, "It's better now."

Chris squints at him for a moment, "Liar, something happened didn't it?"

"No."

"Victooooor."

"NO."

"LIAR."

"NO."

"I'll text Yuuri right now-"

"My chest's been hurting."

Chris frowns, "Are you okay? You should see a doctor."

"Not like that...like...in a love way."

Chris inhales, leaping to his feet, before screaming his boyfriend's name, "VICTOR NIKIFOROV HAS FALLEN IN LOVE! HEY LIEBLING ARE YOU LISTENING? VICTOR IS IN LOVE!" Victor groans, wondering if his sheets can somehow encase him in a cocoon, "FIVE TIME WORLD CHAMPION SKATER WHO HAD NO LIFE SINCE HE WAS SEVEN HAS FALLEN IN LOOOOOVE!"

Chris's boyfriend yells at him to shut up, and Victor agrees, though he can't hide his blush now as Chris shoots him a manic grin, "I am so, so happy for you. I hope it's reciprocated!"

At a loss for words, Victor mumbles a quiet thanks as Chris gleefully cackles, resembling a young boy running through a meadow at the peak of summer.   
  


* * *

  
Mila: _abort abort_

Victor: ?

Mila: you know georgi's girlfriend

Victor: yes

Mila: they broke up, don't say a word about it. no nothing. nada. zip.

Mila: he's in a terrible state. he flubbed a triple axel and he just stayed down and he wants to scrap his ENTIRE program

Victor: but it's already AUGUST

Mila: WHICH IS WHY HE'S IN A TERRIBLE STATE.

Mila: anyways, thought i'd update you. best to not say anything unless he starts it himself

Victor: got it.

Victor: so how did it happen?

Mila: i dont know

Mila: he keeps crying in the middle of practice. like spontaneously bursting into tears if you so much look at him. you know klara?

Victor: your...cousin right? the ice dancer?

Mila: yes, she has dark hair and i guess she sort of looks like anya if you're standing from the other end of a football field. every time georgi sees her, yakov has to stop him from running out of the rink

Mila: he's refusing to go drinking with me. help. what do i do

Victor: ...i'm ashamed to say that i'm not good with emotions, please take care of him

Mila: will do

Mila: yakov is glaring at me, ttyl victor

 

Georgi: vitya...

Victor: hey, i heard about anya

Victor: i hope you're feeling better

Georgi: love is evil, vitya, please come home 

Georgi: you either marry them or you break up with them. isn't it crazy how your brain can release neurotransmitters and hormones or whatever that can make you see that they're perfect and then it fades away?

Georgi: I MISS HER SO MUCH

Victor: so much that you're scrapping your entire program? i think you should rethink about changing the choreography- it's already late august.

Georgi: you know what

Georgi: i'll win her heart back with my program

Victor: what

Georgi: yes, i can see the steps already, the emotions i have to convey, the make up and costume i have to order right now

Victor: georgi...

Georgi: you're the best victor, talking to you always make me feel better

Georgi: ttyl i have to ask mila how to apply eyeshadow on. i hope your romantic pursuit ends in a wedding and you two living HAPPILY EVER AFTER WITH MANY MAKKACHINS. you _must_ invite me to your wedding, vitya, i'll prove myself by bringing anya as my plus one.

Georgi: bye!

Victor: what.

Victor: georgi?

Victor: GEORGI COME BACK.  
  


* * *

  
"Yuuri, Vicchan, I think it's here!" Hiroko interrupts their after dinner tea by carrying in a slim box, a beaming smile on her face as Victor gasps and takes it from her hands. Then Yuuri yelps, Victor dragging him by his wrists as they fly into Victor's bedroom. 

Victor pushes Yuuri down on the loveseat sofa and pushes the box towards him, bouncing on his heels, "Open it!"

Puzzled, Yuuri's hands work the tape and he drops his mouth. His costumes sparkles in the low lighting, and Victor smugly gives himself a pat on the back- it was a good choice to send the design at the usual place where Victor got his costumes. He'll just keep it a secret that he expedited the parcel even though Yuuri said that he can wait. It's worth it to Yuuri run a hand down the hand sewn crystals and beading, studying in awe how the light reflects off the pretty stones.

"Go try it on," Victor waves, "It's yours."

A nervous chuckle slips out of Yuuri's mouth, "Won't I look plain wearing it right now?"

"No you won't, grab your comb, we'll do your entire look now."

"E-Eh?! Now?"

"There's no time like the present," He states, and to put his point across, he beams Yuuri a smile he know he can't resist, giving a quiet whoop of victory when Yuuri leaves to grab his brush. Victor, glad Makkachin is on a play date with the triplets since his poodle likes to lick his hair pomade, rummages in his drawer. Yuuri returns, and Victor turns on one of his bedside lamps and pats the end of his mattress as he runs Yuuri's bangs back a little, glad that it's completely dry from their soak earlier.

He takes a generous dollop of pomade into his hands and rubs it until it's spread evenly throughout his palms, Yuuri makes a startled noise when Victor starts rubbing it into his hair, muttering a soft sorry as he focuses on his work. He first makes Yuuri's hair stand up straight, then with a comb, he starts to brush it into place.

"I-I can do it myself, Victor."

"Nonsense, I'm your coach," Even as he says this, he knows it's a flimsy lie. The most Yakov ever did to help his appearance was taught him how to tie a tie, and that was _eons_ ago, "Let me help, Yuuri."

"O-Okay."

He likes this. This, whatever this is- combing Yuuri's hair back in half darkness. From the reflection on his lamp, Yuuri had closed his eyes and has a small smile gracing his face.

Then he remembers a young Chris knocking on his hotel room door, big hazel eyes watering as he begs Victor to help him bleach his roots since he can't do the back of his head.

"What's so funny?"

"I was just remembering Chris when he debuted in the senior circuit. You know how he bleaches his hair, yes? He asked me to help him cover his roots at two in the morning because he wasn't close to any of the other skaters at the time and his coach had already fallen asleep," Victor brushes the stray lock of hair into place, smiling, "Yakov wasn't all too happy when he saw me repeatedly yawn, so he lectured me during breakfast and ordered me to nap until the competition started."

"I'm sensing more shenanigans from the both of you," Yuuri's voice comes out in a teasing lilt as he moves his head when he feels the absence of Victor's fingers, "Are you done?"

"I am," He moves to stand in the hallway, "Change into your costume, ja?" God damn, Chris is rubbing off of him.

Makkachin greets him with a wagging tail when Victor opens the door, and he immediately stoops to say hello, turning to see the triplets wave from the genkan, Takeshi accompanying them.

"Thank you for looking after Makkachin for me!"

Nishigori laughs, "Thank you for letting them pet sit. See you tomorrow, Victor," He ushers the triplets back home, all of the arguing who's turn it is to sit on his shoulders and be carried home that way.

When Yuuri pokes his head out, Victor sinks to his knees and as Yuuri flutters above him, he mumbles a quick prayer to his guardian angel.

 

Victor hears his phone ping in the middle of packing for China. He abandons his dresser for a moment to sit on the edge of his bed, and through his open door, he can hear the news-anchor summarizing what happened in Skate Canada (Victor will never admit that he likes JJ's song for his free program, he'd rather shove a spoonful of wasabi in his mouth).

christophe-gc: hey

christophe-gc: i know what you should write on your tombstone

v-nikiforov: what. why tombstone.

gpopovich: lol what

christophe-gc: have you seen the photo victor's been tagged in georgi? 

gpopovich: the one where he's brushing the japanese yuuri's hair? BOI

christophe-gc: boi victor you got it bad

gpopovich: so bad

christophe-gc: who took it by the way? i must send them my warmest regards

christophe-gc: -link-

christophe-gc: georgi dearest, tell me what you see in that picture

gpopovich: a completely smitten man, a man who has fallen blind to love, a man who left his legacy in russia to pursue his love, a happy man, a man who hasn't experienced true, crippling, devastating, heart break

gpopovich: you know the longer i stare at it, the more i feel like i'm intruding on a special moment

v-nikiforov: georgi are you ok?

gpopovich: quoting one of the weasleys in harry potter, "absolutely spiffing", my theme is coming along very nicely

christophe-gc: aNYWAY. 

christophe-gc: back to what i was saying earlier 

christophe-gc: you know what you should write on your tombstone victor?

christophe-gc: "Here lies Victor Nikiforov, death by Yuuri Katsuki slicking his bangs back"

gpopovich: xaxa

gpopovich: oh i know a good one, "Here lies Victor Nikiforov, death by Yuuri Katsuki's hug"

christophe-gc: mdr

christophe-gc: "Here lies Victor Nikiforov, death by Yuuri Katsuki's pole dancing"

v-nikiforov: STOP

gpopovich: LMAO

gpopovich: btw does he remember?

v-nikiforov: you know we never explicitly mentioned it but when i showed eros to him and yura, he looked so mortified that i decided he's embarrassed

v-nikiforov: so im not mentioning it

christophe-gc: what a gentleman. im so proud, my dearest is growing up

v-nikiforov: i'm older than the BOTH OF YOU

v-nikiforov: brb im going to watch the tv

v-nikiforov: yuuri's presenting his theme for the season

christophe-gc: ok

gpopovich: i thought you couldn't understand?

christophe-gc: georgi he literally schooled all of us when he was the first to be able to speak english fluently

christophe-gc: what was it you said to all of us? "It's as easy as pie!" i hate you still for that btw

christophe-gc: also, he made flashcards of the most common words in katakana the other day

gpopovich: what a nerd

v-nikiforov: </3 

With all languages, there are certain words that have no direct translation. This is a given fact Victor has learnt to accept. Many of these words float around on his phone, having explained by the different skaters when he comes across a weird translation.

However, the word  _ai_  has many different meanings. 

Victor can't explain the emotion he's feeling right now as he watches Yuuri grip the microphone with both hands, his glasses tucked into the inner pocket of his suit. Dimly, he's aware of Minako trying to translate, but all of them have fallen silent when Yuuri flips his whiteboard around.

And he knows that kanji. Ai.

"Um," Yuuko breaks the silence after he made a smart comment about burning Yuuri's tie, "Uh."

"Don't worry about it, I'll look at the translations later," He's smart enough to fool them all, so they turn back to see the presenter snap out of his stupor, calling the next figure skater to show their whiteboard. Yuuri goes back to his seat and looks at the camera with a determined expression, like he knows he's basically confessed on national television that Victor was among those who inspired love in him.

(But that determined gaze- Victor knows that Yuuri is also aiming for gold) 

It's so Yuuri that Victor puts his hand over his mouth to hide his widening grin, pleased as his heart flutters.  
  


* * *

  
"Nervous?"

Yuuri spins around to see him walk forward sleepily, Makkachin immediately streaking towards a patch of grass and turning here and there. Victor never really had a solid sleeping schedule due to his poodle waking him up every time she needs to do her doggy business, but he makes it up for being able to fall asleep anywhere.

"A little bit," Yuuri wryly smiles. Victor moves forward to stand next to him as they stare at a a clump of trees near the fence, "I'll be one of the oldest one there for sure."

"With age comes experience," The five time world champion knows that all too well. This would be his first time going to a competition with no intention of stepping onto the ice at all. It's exciting and frightening at the same time, he's looking forward to it. 

Yuuri bends down so Makkachin can kiss him, excitedly pawing the ground as she looks at the fence and then back to them, whining.

"I'll take her for a walk," Victor procures a leash out of his pant pocket, but Makkachin is so well behaved that he rarely leashes her, "Do you have your luggage all packed?"

"Yes."

"Then I'll see you for breakfast," Yuuri grins and opens the latch, pushing the gate out of the way. Victor turns back a block away where Yuuri's leaning against the metal framework, the blue banner of Yu-topia Katsuki blowing in the wind, a warm smile directed at his retreating figure.  
 

sara-crispino: -link-

sara-crispino: -link- 

sara-crispino: AAAAA???

sara-crispino: it's a fan translation that i came across but HEY VICTOR IS YUURI SAYING THAT HE BASED HIS THEME ON HIS LOVE FOR YOU AND HIS FRIENDS AND FAMILY? BECAUSE IF HE DID IT WOULD BE THE SWEETEST THING OH MY GOD 

christophe-gc: !!!

mbabicheva: OMG

sara-crispino: <3

phichit+chu: OTP!!!


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HELLO! SOME FAQ ANSWERED! Please read some of it!!
> 
> 1) Where is Yuuri and Yuri in the group chat?  
> Yuri probably turned off notifications for that chat because it literally blows up everyday (enough to wake Victor up from his sleep), and Mila probably updates him on the news anyway, so he doesn't bother checking it. As for Yuuri, I'm sure he has IG but I hc'd that he keeps it private and only Phichit and a selected few knows it, (I think there was a theory floating around how the picture of the wine bottle in the ending credits is from Yuuri's IG?) so when JJ started it, he probably only added skaters he had IGs of.
> 
> 2) How come Phichit was so quiet during the roast session of Chris and Georgi going "Here lies Victor Nikiforov..."?  
> He's not in that chat actually haha, Victor has one specifically between him, Chris and Georgi. Actually this is a good time to say how many chats there are. There's a) the massive one with every skater in the ISU senior division (excluding Yuuri) b) the one between the Russian team (where Victor doesn't participate in fear that Yakov can read over people's shoulders) and c) the one with only Victor, Chris, and Georgi.
> 
> 3) How is Phichit keeping everything quiet?  
> Assuming that he watched (and read the fan translation Sara linked) the conference, he probably guessed that Yuuri's already aware.
> 
> 4) (not asked but yolo) Where's Otabek in the chat?  
> He strikes me as a person to have IG and then forget it exists :') but I guess he keeps up to date on twitter since he saves Yuri in Barcelona.
> 
> whew thanks for reading all of that I hope that answers some questions.
> 
> Not beta'd

 

"Be careful, okay?" Victor wraps Yuuri's scarf tighter around his neck, "You can't get sick now. Don't forget to look both ways before crossing the street," He leans in to cup his hands around Yuuri's cheeks, squishing it and staring his student down, "They drive on the other side of the street here, remember?"

Yuuri takes all of his advice with a strained smile, "I'll be fine, Victor, I lived in Detroit for a few years."

 

"Be careful!" He yells after Yuuri's retreating figure in the hotel lobby, ignoring the dirty look the front desk gives him for disturbing the quiet murmurs of guests, "Remember to look both ways!!"

"My god Vitya, stop being a mother hen, he's twenty-three."

Victor spins around to see an old rink mate smile at him, her usual long brown hair tied into a bun. He rushes forward to hug her, so overjoyed to see a familiar face that he doesn't realize that he had spun around automatically to Russian.

"Klara! I didn't know you were assigned here."

Mila's cousin purses her lips, "They changed my assignments at the last minute, see." She takes a step back, looking him up and down before smiling, "You look in better health."

"As you do, too. You don't look a day over thirty-three," He kisses her hand, straightening and looking around, "Is Georgi here already? What about Nikita?" Then he remembers that Yakov would be here and feels his smile strain.

Klara's face sours, "My idiot's flight is delayed. There's nothing worse than having one half of a dance pair in a competition when it starts tomorrow, but I'm hoping he can sleep on the flight and come straight to the venue. It'll be all okay I'm sure, don't fret." She grimly smiles, blue eyes hardening, "As for Georgi, he's taking a nap. Yakov is running around somewhere, probably screaming at Aeroflot."

Ah yes, his dear coach who doesn't fear a life sentence to murder Victor in front of international television, "How _is_ the old man?"

Klara gives a strained smile, nervously laughing as Victor gestures towards the hotel's cafe, "It's been an interesting start to a season I must say."

"I'm sorry," Victor mumbles, ducking his head a little. He can remember many times where she had to cover for the trouble he and the skaters around his age had caused when they were all younger. Klara only smiles at him before breaking eye contact to order the drinks, for Victor's Mandarin is appalling. "You're always looking after me."

"Don't worry about it, it's what the seniors do," A porcelain pot decorated in blue ink and two cups arrive, and Victor moves forward to pour, "How is Japan?"

He looks away as he sips, not missing Klara's widening smile, "It's great, Hasetsu's very charming, I think you'll like it if you decide to take a vacation before next season starts. Everything is quiet in the small town, and the locals are very friendly even with my terrible pronunciation."

"I'll keep that in mind. Mila shared that fan translation to the team."

Victor wants to hide behind the potted plant next to him, but he spots a photographer nearby, only letting out a small moan of terror as Klara delighted cackles, "Don't tell me Yakov saw."

"Yakov saw."

At this, Victor abandons his public image for a few seconds and puts his face in his hands as Klara sips her tea, laugh tinkling like a bell. He definitely needs alcohol tonight.

"You're not returning."

Victor picks his head up and sees Klara cock her head a little to the left, she opens her mouth to emphasize herself, "You're not returning to the ice."

He has some shard of humour left in him, "I like doing twizzles, though." He reaches for his cup and swirls his tea gently so it doesn't spill off the sides, "But no, I think it's time I leave anyway, the ice has sapped everything from me."

"It does that, yes. At this point, I've been on the ice for twenty eight years, Vitya, the feeling is mutual." She turns and waves to the photographer, and Victor does the same, plastering his usual media smile as their eyes are blinded. The photographer checks his camera roll before bowing to them several times and scurrying away, "I'm happy that you've chosen to escape its grip, it has been years since you looked so relaxed."

"What about you?"

"Ice dancing is more...forgiving in a way. I think I still have a couple more years. Do you know what you want to do if Yuuri retires after this?"

Twenty-three isn't as old as twenty-seven, but it's possible, "I don't know," He laces his hands to hide his trembling fingers, "We haven't talked about it, I want him to concentrate on the present- on his performance tomorrow. When he overthinks, he has a tendency to flub his jumps and then it's like a snowball rolling down a hill."

"Anxious, isn't he?"

"Happens to the best of us." Klara snorts and Victor smiles, "What?"

"The last time you were anxious was defending your third gold in Worlds, which you didn't need to worried about- we made a podium sweep." She fondly recalls, "You know, Georgi and I were looking up videos of your Yuuri while waiting for Aeroflot, and I'm impressed with those-"

" _Step sequences!_ " They chime together, bursting into laughter as Klara nods, "Yes! His step sequences were gorgeous! He's really Japan's Ace, shame he gets a little nervous." Klara puts her chin on her hand, "Anyway, how's the love life? As your senior, you have to tell me everything single detail!" 

"I'm sure you know what's going on from Twitter."

"Yes, but Google Translate isn't accurate and the kanji I can read only takes me so far. It's also not accurate!"

"I _think_ it's going well, he's opening up more to me," Victor says, "I...really want it to work out."

When Klara doesn't say anything he looks up to see her stare at him.

"He has you all wrapped around his pinky."

"No he doesn't!" Victor hisses, then a beat later, hangs his head, "Okay, he does."

A snicker, "This is the best thing that's happened all year, and _I_ had to play damage control for Georgi's excessive make up the other day." She checks her watch and flinches, "Ah, the press conference is in thirty minutes! I should be waking Georgi up and rounding up Yakov." Klara stands up in a hurry and Victor copies her, giving a few bills to the waiter before escorting her out of the restaurant. She promises to stay behind and watch Yuuri's SP if Victor brings him to watch her FS, " _If_ my idiot makes it," Klara mutters darkly, waiting for the elevator doors to open. "Oh, one last thing."

"What is it?"

"Love is a good look on you," Klara leans up to kiss his cheeks in farewell as the elevator door opens with a ding. Victor lets her, inhaling the peony notes of her perfume before she claps a hand on his arm, "I haven't seen a genuine smile in a very long time. Good luck tomorrow, Vitya. 

The elevator door closes, and Victor stares at his reflection in the chrome paneling.

 

Victor seems to be cursed to waking up with a demon possessing his phone. The slight hangover is a hint; maybe he did something again last night that caught the public eye.

Ah. Phichit's picture. Chris and Georgi are already laughing over it as he was sleeping.

christophe-gc: MDR WHAT IS THIS

gpopovich: your fans are crying vitya.  

christophe-gc: my liebling just sighed HAHAH

gpopovich: oh at least your bald spot is hidden

v-nikiforov: I DONT HAVE A BALD SPOT

christohe-gc: you may not have one, but you have one shiny forehead

gpopovich: indeed, this picture doesn't show your receding hairline

v-nikiforov: MY HAIRLINE IS NOT RECEDING

gpopovich: the first step is to acknowledge and accept it

gpopovich: btw are you here yet? at the venue?

christophe-gc: no i'm still eating breakfast

gpopovich: victor?

v-nikiforov: i'm still in bed, i'll catch you later

gpopovich: okok

His phone pings again, showing a text message from Yura.

Yuri: your forehead is so shiny it's the new North Star

Victor: go to bed yura, it's bed time for children

Yuri: I'M FIFTEEN

Victor: fifteen and still short ╰(*´♡`*)╯

Yuri: TAKE THAT BACK YOU OLD GEEZER

Victor: drink lots of milk~

 

Hm.

"Victor, is he okay?"

He shushes Chris, watching Yuuri slowly jog along the hallway to warm up. By the slope of his shoulders, he's more tense than he needs to be, but he's not staring off into space or ducking his head. Anxiety is ruled out. Maybe he just has excessive energy.

Victor chats with Chris about their respective pets as they're ushered into the rink. Yuuri is even more restless, and Chris eventually abandons talking to him when Victor's eyes flits to him every five seconds. Georgi tries to talk to him (when Yakov is not anywhere near him), and achieves the same result. Yuuri looks more agitated, and it's making him agitated too. His nerves are starting to fry as he tries to recall what Yakov had done in the past if he was riled up, but Victor realizes he always ignored his advice and tuned him out.

He's not a model student.

Yuuri's forehead collides with his before he glides away. Chris, bemused, asks if he wants some ice from the first aid room, but Victor shakes his head, wanting to keep at least the promise Yuuri asked him to do, "He told me not to take my eyes off-"

Yuuri licks his lips. The guitar strums. He hears Chris's coach choke on his coffee.  


 

 

* * *

_  
Oh boy_.

Victor has to meet up with some sponsors over breakfast, apologies flowing out of his mouth like a high pressured hose as he pokes his head into Yuuri's room. Too busy with buttoning his shirt and picking a tie, he misses Yuuri's frazzled state of no sleep before rushing out of the room and telling him what he can and cannot eat for breakfast. Then, for good measure, he sends Yuuri a text of what he wants him to eat. He follows that with fifty apologies.

When Victor sees Yuuri's dark circles and shaking hands for the morning press conference (a formality really, but he insisted), he throws him back to the hotel and decides that he'll keep him motionless using his weight.

Klara somehow gets to be behind the barriers for the six minute warm up, standing next to him even though she's not supposed to be on the floor until her free dance starts. "Did you tell him not to practice his jumps for warm up?"

"Yes, why?" Victor was scoping out Georgi's 'artistic' step sequence and zooms his eyes to Yuuri, who takes off and lands up sprawling on the ice. The audience winces.

Klara pats his shoulder with a weak smile, "He'll be okay."

Yuuri is not okay, and Victor, never good with feelings, obviously fucks it up even more.

Hot shame flows through him as they both start walking back up the fire escape, leaving the cold underground parking lot. He had no excuse for what he did, and now he's afraid that Yuuri will leave him. He's given him a good reason to do so anyways, even going so far as deflecting and running away from Yuuri's problem at hand with _should I kiss you or something?_  

"I'm sorry," He says for the nth time, hearing their footsteps echo as they continue climbing up. Yuuri's still sniffling here and there- of all times Victor doesn't carry the Makkachin tissue box with him. "I'm terrible."

"You are," Yuuri says without hesitation, and Victor shrinks even more, "But you're trying."

"Yuuri."

Yuuri spins and stops, right hand hovering over the hand rail in case he stumbles. His glasses are safely kept in Victor's inner pocket, so he scrunches up his eyes before slowly saying, "...Yes?"

Yuuri sharply inhales as Victor wraps his arms tightly around him. There can be many ways he can say his apologies, but he's always more of someone who takes action than talks. His heart starts to beat faster when Yuuri wraps his arms around him and burrows into the crook of his neck, his cold nose pressing against Victor's warm throat.

He has no smart comment to save him, nothing to tease Yuuri with as he stops breathing and lets Yuuri stay there, his hair brushing the length of Victor's jaw.

"...Your heart is beating quite fast," Yuuri softly remarks.

Victor shushes Yuuri, keeping him in his arms as Yuuri's body shake with minute laughter. 

When they exit the fire escape, a frantic ISU official sighs in relief and pushes them towards the rink, talking in Mandarin as the words fall on Victor's deaf ears, but he understands the gist of it since Georgi's dancing on all the TV screens. Some reporters caught sight of Yuuri's red eyes, and Victor draws him closer and hurries them along, noting that Yuuri's face is still downcast. At least his nose has stopped running.

 

mbabicheva: oh no...did something happen to yuuri?

sara-crispino: his eyes looked bloodshot :(

emil_nikola: wow he landed his first jump. didn't he fall in practice?

emil_nikola: WAS THAT A QUAD FLIP

mickey-crispino: QUAD FLIP??

sara-crispino: !!

mbabicheva: WAS THAT A HOMAGE TO VICTOR?

Jjleroy!15: I JUST WOKE UP WHAT HAPPENED?

phichit+chu: I HAD TO STEAL MY PHONE FROM CIAO CIAO BUT YUURI DID A QUAD FLIP AT THE VERY END

sara-crispino: A HOMAGE TO VICTOR!!!

emil_nikola: victor looks...pissed? sad?

Jjleroy!15: Oh he's running. 

sara-crispino: OH MY GOD

mbabicheva: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Jjleroy!15: ...JJ is speechless.

emil_nikola: wow

mbabicheva: i'm deceased

phichit+chu: VICTUURI IS CANON AAAA IT'S GLORIOUS 

phichit+chu: #LoveWins

sara-crispino: i'm sobbing real tears

phichit+chu: me too

  

" _Davai!_ "

Yuuri looks at the pamphlet as a pair of ice dancers glide onto the ice and begin waving. Victor's yells something in Russian, and the pair seems to spot him because both of them blow a kiss in their direction. They're skating to Mahler's Symphony no. 5.

"They're my only seniors back in Russia," Victor explains, as the music starts and Yuuri leans forward and watches, in awe of the smoothness the pair exudes. "Her name is Klara, she's Mila's cousin- have you heard of Mila?"

"Uh..."

"You should keep up with our world, Yuuri," Victor teases, grinning as he laces his hand with Yuuri, who doesn't object but sends him a sappy smile. "The man is Nikita, they've been partners for twenty six years."

"Whoa..."

Victor presses a smile into the shell of Yuuri's ear and leans back in his seat, watching his seniors express their love on the ice. After every news station and reporter finished talking to them and Yuuri had stretched himself loose, Victor led him up to the seats and handed him some water and a snack. Yuuri had no complaints on watching the ice dance's free program, content with Victor's warm hand in his with the promise of getting dinner with Phichit and the others in a few hours.

When Klara and Nikita have taken their bows and flowers have stopped raining on them, Yuuri turns to him with a smile on his face.

"Victor?"

"Yes?"

"Can we do that?"

 

✧✧✧

Trending on Twitter

1) Yuri Plisetsky

2) #LoveWins

3) #GPFGala

4) Victor Nikiforov

5) #GPFBarcelona

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The ice dancers mentioned are modeled after Tessa Virtue's and Scott Moir's success and achievements. The free dance in this chapter is from Virtue/Moir's 2010 FD Symphony no. 5  
> (actually if y'all wanna check out some of their programs i recommend their original dance in the 2010 olympics and their SP and FD in the GFP 2016 :D)
> 
> Aaaa thank you for your comments and support! thanks for staying with me as i indirectly roast victor through his friends ٩(ˊᗜˋ*)و look out for my new fics maybe? (i'm working on one rn)  
> you can scream at me at @yaboyhajime on twit 
> 
> every single time i watch the pair skate i simultaneously die and get re-birthed at the same time. thank you kubo-sensei.


End file.
